posted at 8:01 am on March 12, 2013 by Ed Morrissey

Good question — which is why Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) evaded it by complaining about the length of the questions. Bear in mind that Moran held this townhall meeting specifically to discuss legislative responses to the Newtown shootings; it was titled “Preventing Another Newtown: A Conversation on Gun Violence in America.” If it’s a conversation, shouldn’t Moran be prepared to, y’know, converse? Instead, Moran refused to address the issue of self-defense for women:

It’s unclear what length of questions he expected. Perhaps it was something along the lines of “When you gonna grab the guns?”

Note too the loud cheers that erupt when the question is posed. Clearly, this woman’s concern didn’t come from the fringe, not even among Moran’s constituents. The question of rape is especially pertinent, since it is primarily a crime of domination and power. Why wouldn’t we want women to have the ability to change the power equation in these attacks? And while it’s true that a weapon can be turned against its owner, as one woman shouts in near the end, it’s at least as likely that a woman will get killed in a rape as it is that she’ll lose her weapon in a struggle with an attacker. A properly trained and armed woman would still have an advantage over an attacker, or at least a fighting chance.

Too bad Rep. Moran is apparently incapable of answering that question. Maybe he should stop holding townhalls on subjects for which he has little knowledge and spend his time studying up on those issues instead.

Update: Two different readers, my friend and Brad Thor among them, says that the woman is Celia Bigelow. Katie identified her in her Townhall post.

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Okay let’s take this rapist education logic to the next level. Do we really think that we can educate rape out of existence so that women don’t need to protect themselves?

Are budding rapist even educatable considering we don’t even know really what causes someone to rape? And if we apply this logic, shouldn’t we be then educating children about becoming pedophiles and domestic violence committers.

That used to be what parents were for, and why the government gave them tax breaks and other benefits. I guess that’s not an operable scenario anymore.

Demtards like Moran don’t want women to defend themselves.
1) That would endanger his vicious son.
2) It would end the stream of victim sob stories used to justify their power-grabbing tyrannical control policies.

So why are you trying to deprive women of the right of self-defense from tyranny?

So why are you trying to deprive women of the right of self-defense from criminals?

Galt2009 on March 12, 2013 at 3:50 PM

And I say…

DON’T LET UP!

This line of questioning needs to stay at the center the debate.

Saltysam on March 12, 2013 at 3:54 PM

Thank you.

The best the proppressives can seem to manage is a dance around the truth that in the end they want innocent folk – including women – deprived of their right of self-defense against criminals and tyrants.

Galt2009, IF
we educate men NOT to rape; and as long as womyn have bladders and colons, plus access to rape whistles, they ARE prepared to deal with rape…Geeeez, you know how they are…all emotional and
Sh!te, they might just pull out a pistol and *pop*Pop*…

Galt2009 on December 21, 2012 at 10:21 AM
Are there or are there not proposals to ban private ownership of civilian (semi-auto) models of military (full-auto) rifles, and carbines?
.
If you’re acknowledging this, then it’s hardly “hypothetical”.
The Second Amendment is FIRST, about self defense against a Tyrannical government. Common criminals come after that.
Then dangerous/nuisance animals … and so on.
Citizens should be allowed to possess the same weaponry as your local and state police. Anything less than that, means your ability to defend yourself against a tyrannical government is compromised. Period.

listens2glenn on December 21, 2012 at 2:12 PM

It’s not hypothetical when you have a tyrannical government breathing down you neck or you have perp breaking down your door in the middle of the night and the police are a lifetime away.

I suppose one reason we need to emphasize the opposition to tyranny aspect of the 2A is that we citizens need parity with our would-be oppressors.

The other aspect of this argument is that the government is Always going to have guns.

Proppressives like to play their little game of thinking that depriving the innocent of guns will somehow translate to depriving criminals of guns – that doesn’t work but they like to use that fanciful idea to push their disarmament cause.

Galt2009, IF
we educate men NOT to rape; and as long as womyn have bladders and colons, plus access to rape whistles, they ARE prepared to deal with rape…Geeeez, you know how they are…all emotional and
Sh!te, they might just pull out a pistol and *pop*Pop*…

Proppressives like to play their little game of thinking that depriving the innocent of guns will somehow translate to depriving criminals of guns – that doesn’t work but they like to use that fanciful idea to push their disarmament cause.

Galt2009 on March 12, 2013 at 5:05 PM

Of course – as the Demtards in Colorado vote to ban magazines larger than 15 rounds. How did the ban on alcohol work? How have the bans on MJ, cocaine, heroin, and many other substance worked out?
This just makes more people criminals, and criminals will be able to get large magazines one way or another. The drug cartels will just add magazines into the bales of MJ and other drugs they regularly get into this country.

Of course – as the Demtards in Colorado vote to ban magazines larger than 15 rounds. How did the ban on alcohol work? How have the bans on MJ, cocaine, heroin, and many other substance worked out?
This just makes more people criminals, and criminals will be able to get large magazines one way or another. The drug cartels will just add magazines into the bales of MJ and other drugs they regularly get into this country.

dentarthurdent on March 12, 2013 at 5:12 PM

Use a different strategy. Ban hypodermics larger than 10ml, prescriptions larger than 10 pills per refill, alcohol containers greater than 6 ozs., and rolling paper containers that have more than 3 papers.

This strategy is called “educating the people” in NY (by denying a choice).

That’s the really ugly underside to what conservatives are envisioning as the solution to rape. That is isn’t about giving guns to women to liberate them, this is about putting the onus on stopping rape on women and defacto regulating women’s behavior.

libfreeordie on March 12, 2013 at 8:50 AM

Strawman, and a miserably weak one at that.

Conservatives aren’t claiming that guns are the solution to rape.

Conservatives are claiming that women should have the right to choose a gun if that’s their preferred solution.

Saying a woman “should have had a gun” is no less victim blaming than saying a woman “shouldn’t have been dressed that way” or “she shouldn’t have been flirting.”

Nobody is saying that all women should have a gun. Conservatives are saying that women should have the right to choose to have a gun if they want to.

Read the headline of this post. It’s about the right to choose self-defense.

What lessons have men been taught that makes a significant number of them feel they can force themselves on women they take on a few dates or who is kind to them?

Men have been taught by liberals that there are no consequences to their actions, and that all humans are free to express their sexuality any way they choose.

So, YOU have probably caused men to rape, libfreeordie.

Since rapists cut across every race, class and geographic bracket there really is some larger cultural issue at play here.

Yes, the larger cultural issue at play here is liberalism.

When will conservatives own up to it.

When will liberals own up to it?

And when will liberals allow women the right to choose self-defense?

Look, it’s obvious that you’re losing this debate in a big way. This is why you’re being forced to use a terrible strawman argument.

You’re better off just giving this one up before you continue to embarrass yourself any further.

Liberalism really has infected Steubenville Ohio I guess. How would a gun have helped this young woman? The culprit here are two young men who have been taught that because they play football they can do whatever they want. I guess liberals are behind the worship of football culture?

Liberalism really has infected Steubenville Ohio I guess. How would a gun have helped this young woman? The culprit here are two young men who have been taught that because they play football they can do whatever they want. I guess liberals are behind the worship of football culture?

You really going to try to claim that you freaks on the left who want to sell g-strings to five year old girls are not to blame for this childish hyper-sexualized culture that we currently suffer under?

Remember, we on the right are sexual prudes I thought? At least according to your Hollywood inspired version of reality?

I will ask again…if your liberal Dem icons Clinton/Kennedy were not educated by the “strong”, “intelligent” leftist mothers then what could possibly be the explanation.

Your attempt to spin this the way you are makes me question your humanity, but like most hypocritical leftist woman you will claim to believe in anything as long as gubment daddy says so. Just another weak woman.

Liberalism really has infected Steubenville Ohio I guess. How would a gun have helped this young woman? The culprit here are two young men who have been taught that because they play football they can do whatever they want. I guess liberals are behind the worship of football culture?

.ANY … hedonistic, “party-hearty” environment is going to be a “petri dish” for ANYTHING (rape falls under that).
ALL of the participating kids, and their PARENTS should be charged with EVERYTHING they can possibly be charged with.

libfreeordie on March 13, 2013 at 11:16 AM
You do realize that rapists actually have brain problems right?

Sidestepping the fact that you’re showing no comprehension of sarcasm or dark humor – and some people are just plain bad – no matter what they’ve been taught.
The problem is a liberal mentality that the rapist can do or have whatever he wants, and liberals don’t want women to be empowered enough to be able to defend themselves. See Jim Moron’s son, Bill Clinton, the entire Kennedy clan, Eliot Spitzer, and many more examples.
Conservative men encourage the women in their lives to get guns and learn how to use them for self-defense.
Liberal men are afraid of women having guns.
What does that say about each of them?

BTW – I just helped my wife pick out her own AR-15 to go with her Draco AK pistol, and we’ve been looking over concealed carry handguns for her as well.

What lessons have men been taught that makes a significant number of them feel they can force themselves on women they take on a few dates or who is kind to them?
libfreeordie on March 12, 2013 at 8:50 AM
.

Men have been taught by liberals that there are no consequences to their actions, and that all humans are free to express their sexuality any way they choose.
So, YOU have probably caused men to rape …..
blink on March 13, 2013 at 9:59 AM

.
Seriously? This is how you’re going to accuse liberals of fostering rape culture? I didn’t think it could get any stupider than your “True Marriage Equality” shtick, but here’s a lower place.
libfreeordie on March 13, 2013 at 11:12 AM

And yet the “black culture” does none of that. Listen to the most popular rap music and you will find exactly the opposite attitudes and behaviors being glorified.
And none of those 5 steps will prevent a deviant, disturbed man from raping if he is so inclined. Getting shot by a potential victim will definitely stop him though.

And nobody is telling any woman she MUST have a gun. Conservatives are saying women must BE ALLOWED to have a gun for self-defense if that is their CHOICE.

I’ve always loved the story about Dick Armey when he was leading the investigation into the Clinton / Monica affair.
(supposedly) A reporter asked Armey what he would be doing if he was in Clinton’s shoes. Armey’s response was (supposedly) “I’d be looking up from a pool of blood while my wife said how do I reload this thing.”

My wife, who is a hot tempered, possessive Irish/Norwegian redhead, said “darn right!!!” about that story.
And I’m busy helping her buy more guns…..
(maybe I’m not so bright….)

It’s great that you want to teach men not to rape.
blink on March 13, 2013 at 1:29 PM

Now – let’s also see them just teach young black men not to shoot each other, not to drive by shootings at groups of innocent people, not to use and deal illegal drugs, not to rob innocent people, not to beat up and rob old people, etc, etc.
Let’s see how that goes…
Oh ya – it’s been tried – and it doesn’t work!!

Soooo, if I just give the ole ho a “garden variety slap across the face” – then no harm done and no crime ehh?
Libtardfree will be happy to hear that Ebony training program for rapists that he/she/it is pushing is already have some real results…..